OPINION: Praising the biggest land decision of our generation

Has been updated: 30 A few minutes ago release date: 30 A few minutes ago

The past six months have seen an unprecedented wave of unity culminate across Alaska with a resounding, clear message that Alaska homelands must be protected. That’s why the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Council, representing 38 Yup’ik, Dene (Athabascan), and Inupiaq sovereign tribes, celebrates the Biden Administration’s recent major step toward protecting 28 million acres of traditional homelands, also known as D-1 lands. At least 140 Alaska sovereign tribes, 145 million Americans, and 120 businesses have called for these D1 protections to be maintained.

This land was closed off from development under Section 17(d)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) over 50 years ago. In 2021, there were attempts to strip ANCSA’s “D-1 protections” and open these lands to industrial development and mining. This attempt did not take into account how removing D-1 protections and allowing extractive resource development would adversely affect our lives and way of life, and the impact that the loss of our hunting and fishing livelihoods would have on Alaska Native communities.

These D-1 areas are located along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers and their tributaries, in the fragile tundra of the Arctic, the salmon-rich regions of Bristol Bay, and the temperate rainforests of southeast Alaska. These areas provide critical migration routes and connectivity for animals, including three of the largest caribou herds in North America, the largest population of bald eagles in North America, and the largest sockeye salmon run on Earth. These lands and waters, and all they support, are essential to us as Alaska Natives and highly valued throughout Alaska.

Fortunately, the Biden Administration has paused the lifting of D-1 protections and begun consulting with Alaska tribes and communities to determine the true impact of opening up Alaska’s D-1 lands. The answer has been overwhelming. In 19 public meetings, community support for D-1 protections across Alaska and online has been nearly unanimous. Tribes have told us that their D-1 lands are vital to the health and well-being of their communities, protect their cultural resources, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and support opportunities for self-sufficiency. These lands and waters have provided blessings to us for countless generations.

Alaska is also experiencing significant changes and losses due to a rapidly warming climate. We have witnessed mass deaths of birds and marine mammals, dramatic declines in fish populations, and major shifts in the migration of many key species. We live with compounding daily and seasonal impacts from increased and sudden disruptions to extreme weather events. In September 2022, Western Alaska experienced its first tropical storm, Tropical Storm Merbok, causing the loss of freezers full of wild meat in villages that were hit hard by flooding, high winds, and power outages. Allowing industrial development during such a time of tremendous stress will magnify and lead to further losses of fish, birds, wildlife, and their habitats. The Biden Administration’s steps to maintain D-1 protections are critical to supporting the health of our traditional lands and the life they sustain.

As the Bering Sea and Interior Tribal Council, we are deeply grateful to the Biden Administration for listening to Alaska Natives and maintaining the D-1 protections. We are now calling on Secretary of the Interior Deborah Haaland to finalize these protections this summer.

This decision is not just for the public good, it is essential to our survival as Alaska Natives. We can eat plenty of salmon, but we can’t swallow a nugget of gold. When our lands are damaged and our waters are polluted, they will never grow back. When D-1 protections are stripped, they are lost forever.

Eugene Paul He is chairman of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Council, which represents 38 tribes across three regions of Alaska, and is a former chief of the Holy Cross Indian Village.

Frank Katchattag He serves as Vice Chairman of the Bering Sea and Interior Tribal Council, President of the Unalakleet Indian Village, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kawerak, Inc.

Michael Stickman He is an executive member of the Bering Sea and Interior Tribal Council, a past chairman of the Nulato Tribal Council, and international chairman of the Arctic Athabasca Council.

Malinda Chase He is a member of the Ambic tribe, an adviser to the Bering Sea Inland Tribal Council, and a board member of Deloy Guess, the ANCSA village corporation of Ambic.

Opinions expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a wide range of viewpoints. To submit an article for consideration, email comments(at)adn.comPosts under 200 words Email: or Click here to submit from any web browserRead the complete guidelines for letters and commentaries here.